Page 15 - SCAT GBV Report - Addressing Gender-Based Violence - 2021

There is a lot of silence in rural areas whereby they think, they have this mindset, that if I am married in this family, I have to sit with the secrets of the family. I don’t have to speak out about my problems and my experiences because they paid lobola for me ... We have to stand up as a legal advice centre and focus on GBV now, so that we can break that silence.
Nomboniso Gaya, PSJAC.
The people in our area don’t want to open up about GBV ... We did a GBV workshop and we indirectly told persons that we want to put out a platform where you can come to us and feel safe if you are a victim of GBV.
Wasiela Meniers, SALDA.
The solution-seeking strategies that LDAs advance are located firmly in the rural communities they serve, and are attuned to how survivors are impacted and able to respond to GBV.
2.2 Leading with women’s voices and choices: “Women to come out and lead”
Facilitating the voice, empowerment and leadership of women is a strategic pathway through which LDAs challenge the unequal gender relations that underlie discrimination and abuse. They do this primarily through the creation of affirming spaces for survivors to voice the violations to which they have been subjected, and by providing legal and psychosocial support. This includes assisting women and other survivors to cope with the stigmatisation associated with being victims of GBV, often accompanied by community silencing and/or shaming. A driving rationale is that women themselves – armed with the necessary information, options and support – are best able to identify the courses of action to pursue.
We expect victims themselves to share their story, but we find they are not free ... They feel that the stigma is still there. We try to align our awareness with the topic of stigma, because we struggle to get the victims to come and tell their story.
Jeanette Mqomo, KSDF.
The women who have been abused are key, because I can’t come with my suitcase and say, these are the solutions. Because they know how it feels to be a victim, and how to get out of that hole. They need to come up with a plan. Others are just supporting systems – partners, justice, police – but the key is that woman.
Nobuzwe Mofokeng, ILDA.
Women find their own way of advocating around an issue ... The women themselves more or less know what they need to do. They can organise in their own communities, and they are agitated enough and angry enough at the femicides to do whatever it is.
Lesley Ann Foster, key informant.
Particularly in those LDAs led by women, leadership on gender is both a principle and a practice. Some adopt a more collective approach, for example through women’s movement building, utilising public action and campaigning to increase their political influence. Others concentrate more specifically on the empowerment of individual
“Finish this Elephant”: Rural Community Organisations’ Strategic Approaches to Addressing GBV 15